Belt-stretching machine



(No Model.)

B. M. PLUMMER.

BELT STRETOHING MACHINE.

No. 394,008. Patented Dec. 4, 1888.

wivkmkww N PETERS, Pholo-Lllhogmphul, Washmglon. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN BI'URRAY, PLI NMER, ()F ll-IILADELPHLX, PENNSYLVANIA.

BELT-STRETCHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 394,008, dated December4, 1888.

Application filed September 26, 1888. Serial No. 286,420. (No model.)

To (LZZ 1071 0772 it may canoe/'71.:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN M URRAY PLUMMER, a citizen of the {*nitcdStates, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of .lhiladelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lmn'ovements in Belt-Stretching)l'achines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to belt-s1 retching machines for taking the stretchout of belts in the manufacture of the same.

It is now well ulnlerstocnl that in the manufacture of cotton orcanvasbelts the elasticity or stretch amounts to from ten to fifteen per cent.of its original length. It has therefore become important to stretch thebelt to its limit of expansion and hold it there until set, to save andutilize the increase of length, which would otherwise be lost. Thispractice also relieves the user from the necessity of taking up slack,formerly so frequently required with new belts. Machines of variouskinds having series of rollers upon which belts are strung back andforth have been devised for taking the elasticity out of belts prior toputtingthem into use. in these machines the belt is fastened at one endof the frame, then stretched across the length of the frame around aroller at the other end, then back around another roller, and so on backand forth until the length of the belt has been taken up, and then atension device, consisting of block and tackle or other means, appliedto the end of thebelt to strain it and exhaust the stretch. The rollersin these machines are arranged one above another, and thus the machinestake up an enormous amount of space.

My invention is intended to overcome this difficulty; and it consists inutilizing the space between the rollers, which has heretofore been leftwholly vacant, by having rollers of varying diameters between those ofthe larger diameter. 3y this means the belt is subjected to the samestraining that it receives in the older machines, but space is largelyeconomized.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a side view of my machine, showing a belt in the actof beingstretched. Fig.2 is a plan of the loose pulleys over which the beltpasses and the shafts upon which they are mounted, and Fig. 23 is a viewof a modification.

A A are supports or stamlards, and ii B are similar supports orstandards within the former, upon which are mounted the horizontalshafts u b, carrying the loose pulleys u b. Rig-idly connected to thestandards B are brackets C, at the ends of which is connected the barI). This bar is provided with a hook or hooks, E, as shown. The ends ofthe belt are folded upon themselves over bars F F and secured by meansof suitable clamps, G 3/. The standards A are provided with brackets,bars, and hooks similar to those described as being upon the upright B.The pulleys l) are somewhat smaller in diameter than the pulleys u, andtherefore, as shown, may be placed between the two larger pulleys, andthus occupy the space usually va cant. This I consider my greatestadvantage over similar devices which have preceded mine. Instead of onelarge pulley at each end, it is obvious that rolls or pulleys, as shownin Fig. 3, may be used, the object being to provide for leading a partof the belt back and forth over and around another part of itselfwithout contact.

To operate my stretching device, one end of the belt is firmly securedto the standard B by means of the hooks upon the rods E and F. The beltis then led around the two pulleys Z) I), thence forward and back aroundpulleys a a, and is finally connected to the standard A, preferably bymeans of the block and tackle and hooks shown. Suitable power is appliedat one or both ends until the belt becomes taut, when it is allowed tostand for a time, and the operation is repeated untilt-he belt has beendrawn out to its ultimate elastic ity, become set, and all tendmicy toreact has disappeared from the fabric.

It will be observed that by my arrangement of pulleys space is largelycconomized. It will be also observed that the same side of the belt isalways next to the pulleys, thus avoiding the zigzag of other machines.

I do not confine myself to any definite number of pulleys, as it isobvious that any nuinber more than two will bring one or more pulleyswithin or between the outer set, and thus contribute to the end sought.

Having now described my invention, I

claim 1. In a belt-stretching machine, the combination of three or morerolls or pulleys supported in suitable fram e-work and havin g parallelshafts or axes, the outer rolls or pulleys 'being of greater diameterthan those interposed between them, whereby a length of belt may bestretched around itself, thus taking up a minimum of space,

IENJAMIN MURRAY PLUMMER.

\Vitnesses:

A. G. HURPHEY, J. B. J ARDELLA.

